Key Quotes for 2012

More than 50 MPs have been allowed to censor details of their taxpayer-funded expenses claims after insisting that information about their second homes could compromise their security. The official expenses regulator published details of MPs' landlords last night, exposing how several politicians are renting properties from one another or from other acquaintances. But 51 successfully argued that information regarding their claims should be redacted so that the public cannot establish the identities of those they rent from. MPs whose details will remain secret are known to include several who are renting properties from one another and a Labour shadow minister who rents a London home from an offshore trust.

Hospitals are squandering £500mllllon a year paying too much for blankets, syringes and other basic equipment. An Investigation found that some are being charged twice as much as others for the same Items. Researchers looked at ten NHS trusts and found some hospitals were paying £120 for a box of electric blankets while other paid only £47. Others were charged £23 for a box of forceps which cost others just £13. Some trusts were paying £1,109 for knee Implants while others were paying £787.

According to a Dutch media report of September 25, 13 psychiatric patients were helped to die last year, an increase of more than 500% since 2010, and the number of euthanasia deaths among those in the early stages of dementia rose to 49 last year, double that of 2010. Dr. Peter Saunders, a leading pro-life medic, has warned that euthanasia in the Netherlands ‘is out of control’. Dr. Saunders said: ‘What we are seeing in the Netherlands is more accurately termed “incremental extension”, the steady intentional escalation of numbers with a gradual widening of the categories of patients to be included’.

Children in day-care are 50 per cent more likely to become overweight compared to those staying at home with their parents, claim researchers. They found that under-fives who spent most of their time at a 'day-care centre or with an extended family member such as a grandparent were most at risk. Researchers said ‘it was a 'mysterious link’, as the structured routine at day-care centrs provided opportunities for the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity.

Scandinavia Children’s Publishing House has made 85 children’s Bibles available as apps, it was reported in September. The apps are being sold worldwide, even in closed Muslim and Communist countries where the written Bible and other Christian books are not permitted.

The number of women dying from ovarian cancer has fallen by a quarter in 20 years thanks to earlier diagnosis and better treat¬ment, say researchers. And the length of time the women survived for also increased, especially amongst women aged between 40 and 60. Ovarian cancer is known as the 'silent killer' because it is notoriously difficult to diagnose and is often detected only once it has spread to other organs. It remains the fifth most common form of cancer amongst women, with 6,500 cases diagnosed in Britain a year. Scientists from the National Cancer Intelligence Network compared data on mortality and survival from 1989 with the latest figures from 2009.

For the first time in history, the US does not have a Protestant majority, according to a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life study released on October 9. The percentage of Protestant adults in the US has reached a low of 48%. There are no Protestants on the Supreme Court and, for the first time, none on the Republican presidential ticket.

Illegal immigrants and terrorist suspects with no right to stay in Britain will be forced out more quickly, David Cameron said yesterday. The Prime Minister announced plans to cut short delays to their cases by overhauling the judicial review system. The measures were billed as a way to speed up infrastructure projects but most judicial reviews are immigration cases. Last night Justice Secretary Chris Grayling confirmed that deportation cases will not be held up for so long in future. He said changes were needed to stop 'spurious claims'. Hate preacher Abu Hamza is one of dozens of terror suspects to use judicial reviews to delay their removal, sometimes for years. Ministers plan to raise the cost of reviews, reduce the time slot for bringing cases and cut the number of appeals from four to two.

In September the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that people who are persecuted in their native countries due to their religion have the right to apply for asylum in Europe. Confirming the ruling of a German court, the ECJ (the highest court within the EU) decided that, if a person’s right to public worship was ‘gravely infringed’, they should be granted asylum. Furthermore, it ruled that being limited to private prayer was not a legitimate alternative to the inherent right of worship.

Private schools should not be expected to open up their facilities to pupils from local state schools, a leading headmistress said yesterday. Louise Robinson, president of the Girls' Schools Association, said it was 'beyond the pale' for the Government to insist that private schools share their 'unique selling points', such as facilities and resources, with the 'competition'. She said that middle class parents who manage to find the money for private school fees should not be expected to bankroll state pupils who want to use the same resources. Her comments are likely to spark fierce debate among private school heads, many of whom justify their schools' 'charitable' status by stressing the ways in which they share facilities with local state schools and the community. David Cameron and Education Secretary Michael Gove have praised this practice and urged independent schools to go further, pooling their 'DNA' with state schools by extending financial backing and lending their 'brands' to academies.

The growth of Christianity in Afghanistan is causing unrest among Muslim clerics, leading them to call for action against believers, it was reported in September. Recent turmoil began after a Kabul-based TV station reported the conversion of several Afghans to Christianity. The Afghan church is completely underground – the last church building was destroyed two years ago and the small number of known believers risk their lives each time they gather in small house meetings.

Money can't buy happiness, but happiness can make you money, say scientists. Teenagers with the highest levels of emotional well-being earn an extra £6,000 on average when reaching 30 compared to their unhappiest peers. In a study of 15,000 teenagers and young adults, researchers found that the most optimistic earned 10 per cent more than the average wage by their thirties. The gloomiest youths, in contrast, were likely to take home almost a third less than average. Scientists believe happier people are more likely to get a degree and find work. They will also get promoted faster.

Following a court hearing on September 17, a judge has ruled that a Christian owner of a B&B broke equality laws when she didn’t allow a gay couple to share a double bed. Susanne Wilkinson has been ordered to pay £3,600 in damages for hurt feelings to the two men. However, the judge accepted that Mrs. Wilkinson was genuine about her Christian beliefs and that she has stopped unmarried heterosexual couples from sharing a double bed. He has granted her permission to appeal.

Students were offered 'bribes' of up to £1,000 for their university society if they attended a rally against the Coalition's spending cuts. Groups such as archaeologists and ballroom dancers were told they needed to send members to tomorrow's march in London to be eligible for extra funding. The demand - circulated by the Manchester University's Students' Union - was branded an unacceptable misuse of public money. It provoked a storm of protest across the campus before being withdrawn with a grovelling apology. But the move is likely to call into question the motivation of some of the 10,000 marchers who the National Union of Students claims will take part in tomorrow's rally. It will be the first time students have marched in London against funding cuts since a series of rallies in 2010.

In mid-September it was reported that 50 confirmed atheists had begun a 40-day prayer experiment to investigate whether God exists. Each will pray for two to three minutes each day, asking God to reveal himself to them. It is based on an academic paper – Praying to Stop Being an Atheist – by Oxford philosopher Tim Mawson. One of the participants dropped out before the experiment began – because she became a Christian.